Grant Hill Part of Group Planning to Bid for the Clippers

We still don’t know for sure how the sale of the Clippers will play out—whether the Sterlings will allow a quick and speedy sale of the franchise, or if they’ll fight for Shelly to become the owner, thereby keeping the franchise in the Sterling family—but we do know that a lot of folks are pooling together their money with hopes of placing a bid on the team. Count former NBAer Grant Hill amongst those people, as the seven-time All-Star is reportedly part of a group that plans bid for the franchise.

Former NBA All-Star Grant Hill has partnered with billionaire investors and longtime Southern California residents Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh to form an ownership group to bid on the Los Angeles Clippers when they are officially put up for sale, according to sources close to the process.

Sources told ESPN.com that Hill’s group is already regarded by league officials as a viable contender for the Clippers in what is forecast to be a highly competitive auction when the franchise finally hits the open market. One industry source told ESPN.com this week that the bidding could start as high as the $1.5 billion range.

It was widely reported Friday that disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling has struck an agreement with wife Shelly to have her negotiate the sale of the franchise, but NBA officials have not yet signed off on that arrangement and continue to proceed with their plans to press for the outright ouster of the Sterlings from the league.

Hill is just completing his first season in retirement after a 19-year career that featured seven All-Star appearances. Ressler is the co-founder of Ares Management and a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Karsh is president and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management and currently serves a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors.